grin and bear it
by queen-sheep
Summary: "Girls can't play quidditch," her brother says one day when she's nine. Angelina sets out to prove him wrong.


_For the QLFC S5 R9_

 _Prompt: Hoops; write about someone meeting a goal_

* * *

"Girls can't play quidditch," her brother says one day when she's nine. Angelina stops what she'd been doing — mounting her broom — in sheer confusion at that statement.

"Girls can play quidditch," she says. "We've been playing together for years."

"No, I mean, girls can play quidditch, but not _well_ ," he corrects.

This, if anything, is an even more bizarre statement. "The entire Holyhead Harpies team is female," she points out, "and—"

"And they're what, tenth in the league?" he says, his voice faintly mocking.

"Ninth," Angelina scowls.

"Exactly," he says smugly. "Nothing good ever comes from having a girl on the team."

Angelina is more upset than angry at this point, because she doesn't understand why her brother, who has loved and protected her and played with her all her life, is saying something so stupid. "I'm a girl," she argues. "Are you saying I'm not good enough to play professionally?"

She wants him to say 'of course you can play professional quidditch'. She wants him to say 'you're right, let's just forget what I just said'.

He shrugs. "You'll grow out of it," he says instead.

She gets grounded later for throwing a quaffle at him, but she refuses to apologize for it.

…

She's more than a little disappointed when she discovers that first years aren't allowed to join the quidditch team. But that's fine. She's not banned from using the quidditch pitch, so when the quidditch teams aren't practicing, she sneaks out of the dorms and flies around by herself.

And that's how she meets Alicia Spinnet, quidditch lover extraordinaire.

...

In her second year, they make the team. Of course they do. They had been practicing daily, swooping through the hoops and tossing the quaffle between them with dizzying speed all throughout first year. They had practically slaughtered all their competition at the tryouts.

The first meeting of the Gryffindor quidditch team begins like this:

"Alright lads," Oliver Wood begins, "The first game of the—"

"And ladies," Angelina cuts in before her brain has time to catch up to her mouth.

The other members of the Gryffindor quidditch team stare at her as if she's grown a second head. She doesn't even blame them; it's their first meeting after try-outs and here's a smarmy second year mouthing off to the captain.

"Sorry, what?" Oliver asks, eyebrows raised high.

"Lads and ladies," Angelina repeats herself, chin tilted just so.

Alicia Spinnet, the only other girl who had made the cut, makes a noise of agreement.

"Er— right," Oliver says finally. "Lads and ladies."

The meeting continues on without a hitch, but later Oliver asks her to stay behind for a bit. Alicia sends her a concerned look but Angelina just smiles and waves her off.

Later, she returns to her dorm room, frustrated and irritated. Alicia rushes to her once she enters, her brow furrowed in concern.

"He's not kicking you off the team is he?" she demands, frantic.

Angelina bursts out laughing. "No!" she exclaims. "Definitely not. You're such a worrier."

Alicia heaves a relieved sigh, sinking down on Angelina's bed. "Good," she says. "You were the best chaser hands down at the try-outs. So what did he want then?"

Just the memory of it is enough to drag her mood down again. Angelina's mouth pulls down into a frown. "He said that we were 'one of the them' and he didn't want to 'point out any differences' and that he was just trying to help us fit in."

Alicia snorts. "Typical guys. They can be so thick sometimes."

…

In her sixth year, _professional quidditch player_ is what she writes on her future career forms. McGonagall takes one look at the slip of paper, then looks at her determined expression, and smiles.

"I suspect you know more about which subjects the Quidditch League expects than I do." McGonagall says. "Your grades are adequate, so just keep doing what you're doing."

She signs the papers with a quill and hands it back.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you play, Johnson."

"Yes ma'am!" Angelina beams.

Her parents, though, are less than thrilled at the career choice.

"You could be a Ministry worker," her mom wheedles. "That's a nice, stable job. Now, I know how much you hate repetition but if you get a job as an Unspeakable I'm sure they'll keep you on your feet!"

" _Mom_ ," Angelina says, "I'm not going to become a Ministry worker! I've never even expressed interest in that even once in my life."

Her mom wrings her hands and worries her lip. Her dad runs a hand through his hair. "Honey, you know we're just worried about you. Professional quidditch can be so... competitive. And you know that players aren't paid well unless they're the best of the best."

Angelina just her chin out stubbornly. "But I _am_ the best! Why can't you just trust me on this?"

She's know they're worried. But it's her life, not theirs. She's always known what she's wanted, and that isn't going to change.

...

Angelina raises two fingers to her mouth and blows out a sharp whistle. Instantly, her team members converge around her, forming a loose circle. Angelina, for a moment, simply looks at them. Then, she smiles.

"This is the last game I'll ever play as both a chaser and a captain for the team," she begins, "and I'm not planning on losing the Quidditch Cup to a group of nasty Slytherins, you hear me?"

"Yes, captain!" they shout, grinning.

Angelina grins back. "If you understand, then let's go!"

The seven of them mount their brooms and launch into the air to the cheers of the Hogwarts students. Up in the air, she can see for hundreds of kilometers. All of her concerns have flown away with the wind. Angelina takes a deep breath and focuses her attention.

The game begins.

...

Angelina drags her luggage off the Hogwarts Express, her heart twinging painfully in her chest. Her seventh and last year at Hogwarts was finished. Gone. She probably wouldn't set foot in the castle again for the rest of her life. She would never play as a Gryffindor quidditch player again.

"Angelina!" she hears faintly, and that's all the warning she gets before she's tackled by both Alicia and Katie.

Katie is already crying, and she clings tight to both Angelina and Alicia. "I can't believe you two are leaving me behind!" she wails.

Angelina can't deny the truth of that statement so she just laughs and squeezes the two of them tighter. "We're paving a path for you - you should be grateful you little brat!"

"I'm not little," Katie whines, releasing her grip on them. With the sleeve of her robe, she scrubs at her eyes and bites her lip. "And just you wait! Next year I'll be scouted to a League team too, and then we'll see who's the best quidditch player!"

Angelina grins at the reminder of the post-game confrontation. She had been cornered by a severe looking lady under the bleachers, who had presented her with an offer to play for the Holyhead Harpies. Angelina hadn't even needed to think about it. She had accepted it in a heartbeat.

From the corner of her eye, she sees her family waiting for her in a relatively secluded corner of the station. She grips the Harpies contract under her robe.

"Excuse me for a second," Angelina says, "I have a point to prove."

Katie and Alicia glance over, then nod in understanding and Angelina starts heading over. She hadn't told any of her family members about the scouting, for this exact reason.

She can't wait to see the expression on their faces.


End file.
